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Penguins Notes: Rust, Nedeljkovic, Nieto

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Pittsburgh Penguins forward Bryan Rust participated in the team practice today wearing a white (non-contact) jersey (as per Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports). Rust has been dealing with an injury that he likely suffered in a preseason game against the Columbus Blue Jackets and may not suit up for the Penguins opener this week.

Pittsburgh general manager Kyle Dubas told the media yesterday that the team was taking extra precautions with Rust, who will certainly be a key cog for the Penguins this season alongside Sidney Crosby on the top line. Anthony Beauvillier has been taking Rust’s spot on the Penguins top line alongside Crosby and Drew O’Connor, however, Rust appeared to be getting reacclimated with his linemates today which likely means he is close to returning.

In other Pittsburgh Penguins notes:

  • Penguins’ goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic returned to the ice today prior to Pittsburgh’s practice (as per Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports). The Penguins backup is considered week to week due to an undisclosed injury and landed on injured reserve earlier this week. His injury will force the Penguins to rely heavily on starter Tristan Jarry to start the year after Jarry didn’t play in Pittsburgh’s final 13 games of the regular season last year. If both netminders post similar results to last season, its possible that Nedeljkovic could become the Penguin’s starter this season.
  • Penguins forward Matt Nieto also skated today before Penguins practice (as per Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports). The 31-year-old had surgery on his right knee in January and was slated to return to the lineup but missed the remainder of the season and then required left knee surgery in May. Nieto has been skating infrequently with his other injured teammates and is reportedly still two months away from returning to the lineup (as per Rorabaugh). The Penguins have a stockpile of bottom-six forwards available to them making it unlikely that Nieto will receive much playing time when he does return to health.

Central Notes: Rantanen, Nichushkin, Hellebuyck, Crouse

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All signs indicate the Colorado Avalanche will enter the 2024-25 regular season without an extension ironed out with one of their star forwards, Mikko Rantanen. The organization isn’t concerned about Rantanen reaching unrestricted free agency next summer with Meghan Angley of Guerilla Sports reporting general manager Chris MacFarland isn’t worried about the negotiations.

Rantanen has been one of the most underappreciated players in the league over the last several years scoring 242 goals and 579 points in 486 games since 2017-18 with an additional five goals and 25 points in 20 games during Colorado’s run to the Stanley Cup in 2022. He hasn’t received as much attention as teammates Nathan MacKinnon or Cale Makar on the national stage but he’s become an integral part of the Avalanche’s success.

His camp will likely use Edmonton Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl’s new eight-year, $112MM extension as a starting point and work down from there. Draisaitl has averaged 0.16 more points a game than Rantanen since the 2017-18 season with an Art Ross Trophy, Hart Memorial Trophy, and Ted Lindsay Award. He will certainly increase his current $9.25MM salary but Colorado will attempt to keep him under MacKinnon’s $12.6MM salary.

Other Central notes:

  • MacFarland also gave a small update on Valeri Nichushkin who is still away from the team due to his six-month suspension last season (X Link). Nichushkin can return to the ice with the Avalanche on November 13th, 2024 but general manager MacFarland shares that he expects Nichushkin to return to Denver sometime toward the end of October. The team continues to work through his reintegration process back to the NHL but all signs have been positive up to this point.
  • Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender Connor Hellebuyck has been away from the Winnipeg Jets because of personal reasons. The absence isn’t expected to carry over into the regular season with TSN’s John Lu reporting he will return to practice with the team on Wednesday and will be the opening night starter tomorrow night against the Edmonton Oilers.
  • The Utah Hockey Club has already laid out its leadership hierarchy to start the year by naming Clayton Keller the first captain in franchise history. TSN’s Chris Johnston reported earlier the team has named Lawson Crouse an ’associate captain’ for the 2024-25 regular season which is an interesting designation. Most teams refer to players wearing an ’A’ on their jerseys as ’alternate captains’ unlike what Utah has done with Crouse.

Pacific Notes: Kane, Savoie, Wright, Eberle

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As expected the Edmonton Oilers have announced they have placed forward Evander Kane on long-term injured reserve to start the 2024-25 NHL season. He had major surgery in mid-September on two torn hip adductor muscles, two hernias, and two torn lower abdominal muscles which will keep him off the ice for the next four months.

The move gives Edmonton some much-needed financial breathing room and will allow them to safely register Travis Dermott’s one-year, $775K contract. Kane’s LTIR placement gives the Oilers $5.125MM in cap room after starting the year with only $53 of space.

Things will get tricky for Edmonton once Kane returns from surgery in mid-January since his contract will be added back to the active roster. The team will still accrue cap space thanks to a separate transaction today (more on that later) but will still be in a bind when Kane returns.

Other Pacific notes:

  • In the same announcement, the Oilers shared they have reassigned forwards Matthew Savoie and Cameron Wright to their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors. The two combined for $1.811MM in cap space with the latter signing a one-year, $925K contract with the team yesterday. Coupled with the team officially signing Dermott to a one-year, $775K contract they have opened up another $1.036MM in salary cap space.
  • Before the team’s first game of the regular season against the St. Louis Blues this afternoon, the Seattle Kraken named their second captain in franchise history. Forward Jordan Eberle will now don the ’C’ for Seattle and will be the first player to do so since defenseman Mark Giordano. Eberle was selected by the Kraken from the New York Islanders in the 2021 Expansion Draft and signed a two-year, $9.5MM extension with the club during the 2023-24 regular season.

Edmonton Oilers Sign Travis Dermott

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4:41 PM: Edmonton has officially announced the one-year, two-way contract for Dermott.

11:27 AM: The Oilers still have defenseman Travis Dermott with the organization on a professional tryout, and it’s expected to result in a two-way contract tomorrow, per PuckPedia. Edmonton still has some procedural moves to make, including maximizing their cap hit before placing winger Evander Kane on LTIR, so it’s not surprising Dermott’s deal has had to wait. While it’s a two-way deal, it would be a surprise to see Dermott land on waivers instead of starting the season on the NHL roster with the Oilers carrying only six defenders.

From 2018 to 2022, Dermott was a regular with the Maple Leafs, peaking as a serviceable third-pairing option who wasn’t afraid to involve himself physically. Over his first three seasons in Toronto, Dermott posted 41 points in 157 games with a +25 rating, averaging 17 minutes per contest. He was consistently among the team’s hit leaders, finishing third on the club with 100 in 64 appearances in 2018-19, and posted well above average possession metrics in his relatively easy minutes. While a left-shot defender, he’s logged some time playing on the right as well.

But over the past three seasons, his overall play has taken a step back. After being sent to the Canucks at the 2022 trade deadline, he missed most of the following season with a concussion and played just 11 games. He wasn’t given a qualifying offer and landed with the Coyotes shortly thereafter on a one-year, two-way deal for 2023-24. He avoided waivers and played 50 games last year for Arizona, posting seven points (2 G, 5 A) and a -14 rating while averaging 17:17 per game – the most ice time he’d logged since 2019-20.

Dermott’s showing last season certainly doesn’t jump off the page. However, he was given the toughest minutes of his career with the Yotes, starting nearly 60% of his even-strength shifts in the defensive end. His possession metrics responded in kind, posting a 45.0 xGF% and a 44.3 CF%, the worst possession numbers of any Arizona defender not named Josh Brown, who’s now also in the Oilers organization.

The Oilers’ defense is far from set after they lost Vincent Desharnais in free agency and cap constraints forced them to deal Cody Ceci to the Sharks. They’re looking for a partner for Darnell Nurse on the team’s second pairing, a competition Dermott may enter alongside Ty Emberson and Troy Stecher.

Carolina Hurricanes Recall Jackson Blake, Reassign Bryce Montgomery

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The Carolina Hurricanes will get one of their top forward prospects into the lineup for their regular season opener on Friday. The organization announced they have recalled Jackson Blake from their AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves while sending recently signed defenseman Bryce Montgomery the other way.

Blake has become a ’diamond in the rough’ find for Carolina with the team selecting him with the 109th overall pick of the 2021 NHL Draft. His play came to life at the University of North Dakota with 38 goals and 102 points in 79 contests. The Hurricanes quickly signed Blake to his entry-level contract last spring after tying for fourth in the NCAA in scoring and finishing third in Hobey Baker Award voting.

He should find a consistent role in Carolina’s middle-six to start the year with the team losing so much forward depth over the summer. The Hurricanes still need a more reliable winger to put next to Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis on the top line which could be Blake’s if he adjusts well to the NHL. He finished his first preseason in Carolina with one goal and two points in four contests.

AHL Chicago was always the likely landing spot for Montgomery after the team signed him to his entry-level contract yesterday. He appeared in 48 last year for the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays scoring four goals and 12 points overall. He’s a big defenseman standing at 6’5″, 231lbs, and should bring a lot of physicality and roughness to the Wolves back end this season.

Atlantic Notes: Laine, Xhekaj, Struble, Guentzel, Nosek

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The Montreal Canadiens have already been busy today with their long-term injured reserve, adding forward Rafael Harvey-Pinard earlier today. They have added another with PuckPedia reporting the team has added forward Patrik Laine to the LTIR opening up $8.7MM in cap space.

PuckPedia also confirmed that defensemen Arber Xhekaj and Jayden Struble’s reassignments to the AHL yesterday were merely a paper transaction with both being recalled to the opening night roster. These moves mean the Canadiens will open the season with $6.625MM in cap space and an LTIR pool of $9.717MM without putting goaltender Carey Price’s $10.5MM salary on LTIR.

Despite the callup, Struble will not be in the lineup for the Canadiens’ regular season opener tomorrow night. The organization announced he is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Even when healthy Struble will have difficulty playing as consistently as last season with Montreal carrying Mike Matheson, Lane Hutson, and Xhekaj on the left side of their defense.

Other Atlantic notes:

  • Some were speculating in Tampa Bay that new winger Jake Guentzel wouldn’t start the season on time after missing some of the team’s practice on Sunday and all of the team’s practice yesterday. Jon Cooper, head coach of the Lightning, downplayed that speculation earlier sharing that the team expects Guentzel back at practice on Thursday and there’s no doubt in his mind that he will be in their regular season opener on Friday. There are high expectations for Guentzel coming into this season after scoring 30 goals and 77 points in 67 games last year between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes while also signing a brand new seven-year, $63MM contract in Tampa.
  • The Florida Panthers will be without some forward depth at the bottom of their lineup for the next few weeks. Senior digital content manager for the Florida Panthers, Jameson Olive, reported forward Tomas Nosek is still out week-to-week with an upper-body injury and confirmed he would not return by next week. Nosek signed a one-year, $775K contract with the Panthers this offseason and is largely expected to be the 12th or 13th forward for the team in most games.

Jets Recall Jaret Anderson-Dolan, Place Him On Injured Reserve

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The Jets have recalled forward Jaret Anderson-Dolan from AHL Manitoba and subsequently placed him on injured reserve retroactive to Oct. 2, the team announced.

Anderson-Dolan, 25, returns to the NHL after clearing waivers yesterday but won’t count against the 23-player roster limit for now. He’s day-to-day with an undisclosed injury that he sustained while blocking a shot in exhibition play against the Flames. The retroactive placement means he’ll be eligible to return tomorrow for Winnipeg’s season opener against the Oilers if need be, but it’s unlikely.

A second-round pick of the Kings in 2017, Anderson-Dolan’s nearly seven-year run in the organization came to an end last March when the Predators claimed him off waivers. A fringe NHLer, Anderson-Dolan had recorded just four points in 30 games last season before landing on the wire. He barely played down the stretch in Nashville, either, logging just one regular-season appearance and none in the playoffs.

Accordingly, Nashville opted not to tender Anderson-Dolan a qualifying offer this offseason, making him an unrestricted free agent. He came to terms on a two-year, partial two-way deal with the Jets on the second day of free agency and was expected to battle for an extra forward spot.

Despite the recall, it’s unclear if he’ll stay on the active roster after he returns to health. The Jets have a full 23-player roster without him, although there will likely be a corresponding move coming in the crease. Connor Hellebuyck has been absent from practice for the past two days for personal reasons, forcing the Jets to carry three goalies on their season-opening roster. Once likely No. 3 option Eric Comrie hits the waiver wire in the coming days, Anderson-Dolan could stick around as the team’s second extra forward.

Anderson-Dolan has 15 goals and 13 assists for 28 points in 127 career NHL appearances. He also has 79 points in 115 career AHL games.

Red Wings Sign, Waive Auston Watson

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Oct. 8, 1:13 p.m.: Watson cleared waivers today, per Friedman. He was on yesterday’s roster submission but has now been assigned to AHL Grand Rapids, per Ansar Khan of MLive.com.

Oct. 7, 1:14 p.m.: Detroit placed Watson on waivers Monday, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. Since he’s been signed and waived on the same day, he can be designated non-roster and not count against the cap for the Red Wings’ opening-night submission.

Oct. 7, 10:02 a.m.: Winger Austin Watson has converted on his professional tryout and signed a two-way deal with the Red Wings, per a team announcement. It’s a league-minimum $775K cap hit and NHL salary with a $200K AHL salary and $275K guarantee, per PuckPedia. As pointed out by The Athletic’s Max Bultman on Sunday, he’ll likely start the season on the NHL roster.

The Wings opened up a roster spot by cutting center prospect Marco Kasper to AHL Grand Rapids yesterday. Watson will need to clear waivers if Detroit wants to send the veteran enforcer to the minors at any point this season, but for now, all signs point to him starting as their 13th forward.

Watson, 32, has 515 games of NHL experience across 10 seasons. He suited up for the Lightning last year after another successful PTO but recorded just two goals and four points in 33 games with 93 PIMs and a +2 rating. The right-shot winger has displayed some offensive upside in flashes, recording 14 goals once during his time with the Predators and hitting the 10-goal mark again with the Senators in 2021-22. But he’s a fourth-line option at most, averaging 10 goals and 19 points per 82 games over his career.

But the 6’4″, 204-lb winger is still an effective physical presence. His possession metrics don’t indicate his heavy style of play translates into any positive impacts defensively at even strength, but he consistently ranks among his team’s hit leaders and has topped 100 PIMs in a season twice (2017-18, 2022-23).

Golden Knights Place Raphael Lavoie On Waivers

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The Golden Knights have placed forward Raphael Lavoie on waivers in an attempt to assign him to AHL Henderson, reports Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Lavoie was claimed by Vegas just yesterday after being waived by the Oilers over the weekend.

Lavoie, 24, made his NHL debut just last year. The 6’4″ center/winger made seven appearances for Edmonton in November and December, posting a -2 rating with four shots on goal while averaging a paltry 7:17 per game. His 50 points in 66 games on assignment to AHL Bakersfield had him on the cusp of making the opening night roster, but he just missed the cut and landed on the waiver wire.

The Golden Knights also claimed Cole Schwindt off waivers from the Flames yesterday, but they don’t have the roster space to keep both long-term. Center William Karlsson will start the year on injured reserve to keep their roster at the maximum of 23 players, but he won’t be out for much if any time. Someone would have needed to hit waivers upon his return – likely one of the new guys so as to avoid exposing valuable defensive depth in the form of Ben Hutton or Kaedan Korczak to the wire. While a waiver placement today wasn’t necessary, the Knights hope that attempting to send Lavoie down now before more injuries pop up across the league gives them a chance to stash him in Henderson.

That likely won’t be the case, though. Derek Van Diest of NHL.com reports the Oilers have an interest in retaining Lavoie and will likely submit a claim before tomorrow’s deadline. If they’re the only team to do so, they can send him directly to Bakersfield without having to pass him through waivers again.

Panthers Place Chris Driedger, MacKenzie Entwistle On Waivers

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The Panthers have placed goaltender Chris Driedger and forward MacKenzie Entwistle on waivers for the purpose of assignment to AHL Charlotte, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. They’ll have three open roster spots and an extra $1.57MM cap space after they pass through or are claimed tomorrow, allowing them the flexibility to recall netminder Spencer Knight from AHL Charlotte as expected.

Driedger, 30, returned to the Sunshine State for his second stint with the Panthers in free agency this offseason on a one-way deal worth $795K. He’s been a high-ceiling NHL option when healthy, logging a career .917 SV% and 2.45 GAA in 67 appearances, but injuries have truncated his ability to cement himself as a full-time tandem option on a year-to-year basis.

He spent most of the last two years of the three-year, $10.5MM pact he signed with the Kraken in 2021 in the minors, making back-to-back Calder Cup Final appearances with the Coachella Valley Firebirds. Driedger was especially strong last season, logging a .917 SV% and 24-7-7 record in 39 games for the Kraken’s farm club, but he’ll still end up as the No. 3 option in Florida – at least after backing up Sergei Bobrovsky for tonight’s contest against the Bruins.

With most teams in need of short-term goalie help making claims over the past few days, Driedger stands a shot to pass through waivers unclaimed. Teams looking to stash him in the minors for insurance would need to waive him again to do so, just opening the door for Florida to bring him back.

Entwistle, 25, had served as a frequent fourth-line option for the Blackhawks over the past three seasons. He’s made 193 career appearances, scoring 15 goals and 20 assists for 35 points with a -55 rating. Despite an eye-popping -29 mark last year despite averaging just 11:23 per game, Entwistle posted the strongest possession metrics of his career with a 43.8 CF%, slightly above Chicago’s horrid team average.

After going unqualified and signing a two-way deal with the Cats, Entwistle technically cracked the opening night roster but is projected to be a healthy scratch for tonight’s home opener. If he clears and heads to the AHL, he’ll earn a $450K salary.

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